Miriam,
I had a wonderful comparative religion class in junior college taught by a
secular humanist. We covered Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism,
Zoroastrianism, Taoism, and animism.
Best,
Paul
Sent from my iPhone
On Feb 3, 2016, at 7:34 PM, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I wonder what is actually included in such courses. Do they include
religions other than Judaism, the various kinds of Christianity, and Islam?
There are a whole lot more religions than those and they should all be
covered. If it's done right, it would be a really long course of study.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Roger Loran
Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2016 9:00 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Why Ted Cruz Is Unfit to Be President
I would have no problem with an objective comparative religion course myself
except that I have my doubts about just how objective it would be. The first
thing that popped into my mind was someone of my acquaintance telling me
about a college philosophy course he took. Part of it dealt with arguments
for and against the existence of a god. The professor covered the arguments
for, but completely ignored the arguments against.
On 2/3/2016 8:36 AM, joe harcz Comcast wrote:
As one who cares about the "wall of separation", but who also values
cultural literacy you bring up something very important here.
I have absolutely no issues, and nor does anyone else with offering
comparitive religion classes even in public schools so long as they
are electives and not mandatory. In fact I also see a value in it no
matter my personal lack of belief.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Abby Vincent"
<aevincent@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2016 11:51 PM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Why Ted Cruz Is Unfit to Be President
That depends on what you mean by religious folks. You don't have to
believe the Bible is literally written by God and is literally all
true to be religious. The PTA at my son's school rejected birth
control in the health clinic and a discussion of sexual assault and
child sexual abuse, but didn't mind a unit on comparative religion.
Abby
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Miriam ;
Vieni
Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2016 7:02 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Why Ted Cruz Is Unfit to Be President
Abby,
The problem is that religious folks would be upset if the bible were
taught objectively. It's never just taught. It's always interpreted.
If it were taught, we'd explain to children that it is a collection
of stories made up by people, some of which are attempts to explain
natural phenomena, and some of which are just stories, and that none
of it comes from God, and that it is the choice of individual people,
whether or not any of it is considered sacred. Just imagine the
fights at school board meetings.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Abby Vincent
Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2016 7:07 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Why Ted Cruz Is Unfit to Be President
This is another reason why the Bible should be taught in school. The
Republicans often distort what it actually says. Most notably, Jesus
never
weighed in on abortion or homosexuality. Besides we wouldn't want
the kids
to think Bernie Sanders said "It's easier for a camel to go through
the eye
of a needle than it is for a rich man to get into heaven".
Abby
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2016 2:17 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Why Ted Cruz Is Unfit to Be President
Why Ted Cruz Is Unfit to Be President
Tuesday, 02 February 2016 00:00 By The Daily Take Team, The Thom
Hartmann
Program | Op-Ed Ted Cruz isn't just winning the support of religious
extremists; he's celebrating their support, and in some cases, hiring
them
to work for his campaign. (Photo: CJ Hanevy / Shutterstock.com) One
of the
most disturbing developments of the 2016 Republican race for
president has
been Donald Trump's popularity among the most racist elements in US
society.
The New Yorker, for example, had lengthy piece over the summer
detailing the
excitement he has generated in the neo-Nazi movement.
But here's the thing: Trump isn't the only guy with dangerous
supporters.
The media don't talk about it as much, but Ted Cruz - Trump's closest
competitor for GOP front-runner status - has also won the backing of
some
downright terrifying people. Take, for example, anti-choice activist
Troy
Newman, who the Cruz campaign just tapped to head up "pro-lifers for
Cruz."
As the head of the radical male supremacist group Operation Rescue,
Newman
straddles the very thin line between "activism" and domestic
terrorism - and
I mean really straddles it. His organization harasses abortion
providers and
their patients, and some of its members have been involved in plots
to blow
up women's health clinics. Newman himself has called for the murder of
abortion doctors, said AIDS is a warning from God and believes that
drought
is God's revenge for abortion.
See more news and opinion from Thom Hartmann at Truthout here.
Seems like a great guy, huh? Well, he's just the tip of the iceberg
when it
comes to Ted Cruz's supporters.
There's also Dick Black, who the Cruz campaign has appointed as the
co-chair
of its Virginia campaign. In addition to advocating for the total
criminalization of homosexuality, Black is also a rape truther. Back
when he
was a Virginia state delegate, Black openly questioned the existence of
marital rape, something one of his opponents hammered him on in a
campaign
ad.
So much for family values, huh?
Cynthia Dunbar, Black's fellow co-chair of the Ted Cruz campaign in
Virginia, isn't much better. She's compared women having reproductive
rights
to the Holocaust, fought to make far-right Christianity part of the
public
school curriculum and believes that elected officials should have to
pass a
"biblical litmus test." She also says that politicians "don't have the
freedom to make any laws if they are contrary to what God has said in
his
Holy Scripture."
Swap out the words "Holy Scripture" for "Qu'ran" and that speech
could have
been made by Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the head of ISIS.
Another Ted Cruz supporter, Iowa conservative and head of The Family
Leader,
Bob Vander Plaats, also says the US should be a Saudi Arabia-style
theocracy. Here he is just a couple of years ago talking about why our
government should be based on "Godly principles" - i.e. far-right
evangelical Christianity.
As unsettling as that kind of talk is, it's nothing compared to what
Colorado pastor Kevin Swanson, another big-time Ted Cruz supporter, said
about homosexuality this summer: that it was worthy of the death
penalty.
Amazingly, it gets even worse than that.
Ted Cruz supporter and Texas preacher Mike Bickle believes that Jews
should
be forcibly converted to Christianity and says that if they refuse to
do so,
God will send a "hunter" like "Adolf Hitler" to get them to change their
minds.
Now, it'd be one thing if Mike Bickle was just some random guy with
bigoted
views who just happens to support Ted Cruz, but he's not, or at least
not
according to the Cruz campaign.
When Bickle announced last week that he was endorsing Ted Cruz for
president, the Cruz campaign published a statement on its official
website
saying in big bold letters, "CRUZ FOR PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES ENDORSEMENT OF
MIKE BICKLE."
There's an old saying that says you are the company you keep, and if Ted
Cruz is the company he keeps, that's downright terrifying.
He's just not winning the support of people like Mike Bickle and Dick
Black;
he's celebrating their support, and in some cases, hiring them to
work for
his campaign.
Of course, there's always the case that this is just one big cynical
ploy to
win the Evangelical vote, but even if it is, it says a lot about Ted
Cruz as
a person and as a leader that he'd willingly associate himself with
people
who are pretty much the US version of ISIS.
This is one of the biggest stories of the 2016 race for president,
but the
really disturbing thing is that the media almost completely ignore it.
Turn on CNN or any of the other major networks and you're more likely to
hear about poll numbers than the fact that the potential Republican
nominee
for president has been endorsed by a guy who thinks Hitler was sent
by God.
It's almost like the media think it's acceptable that someone running
for
president likes to pal around with Christian extremists and theocrats.
Well, it's not acceptable; it's a direct threat to our democracy,
which is
why it's time for the media to start taking Cruz and his extremist
endorsements seriously. Based on everything we've seen up to this
point, we
have every reason to believe that a Ted Cruz presidency could mean
the start
of a Saudi Arabia-style theocracy right here in the US. The media should
function as the fourth estate and wake the American people up to this
before
it's too late.
This article was first published on Truthout and any reprint or
reproduction
on any other website must acknowledge Truthout as the original site of
publication.
RELATED STORIES
Ted Cruz Was Too Busy Playing With His "Gun" in Sixth Grade to Pay
Attention
By The Daily Take Team, The Thom Hartmann Program | Op-Ed Ted Cruz's
Path to
the White House By Tom Tomorrow, This Modern World | Cartoon Ted Cruz
Implies He Would Nuke ISIS Targets By Robert Parry, Consortium News |
News
Analysis ________________________________________
Show Comments
Hide Comments
<a href="http://truthout.disqus.com/?url=ref";>View the discussion
thread.</a> Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Why Ted Cruz Is Unfit to Be President
Tuesday, 02 February 2016 00:00 By The Daily Take Team, The Thom
Hartmann
Program | Op-Ed
. font size Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.Error! Hyperlink
reference not valid.Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.Error!
Hyperlink
reference not valid.
. Ted Cruz isn't just winning the support of religious extremists;
he's celebrating their support, and in some cases, hiring them to
work for
his campaign. (Photo: CJ Hanevy / Shutterstock.com)
. One of the most disturbing developments of the 2016 Republican race
for president has been Donald Trump's popularity among the most racist
elements in US society. The New Yorker, for example, had lengthy
piece over
the summer detailing the excitement he has generated in the neo-Nazi
movement. But here's the thing: Trump isn't the only guy with dangerous
supporters.
The media don't talk about it as much, but Ted Cruz - Trump's closest
competitor for GOP front-runner status - has also won the backing of
some
downright terrifying people. Take, for example, anti-choice activist
Troy
Newman, who the Cruz campaign just tapped to head up "pro-lifers for
Cruz."
As the head of the radical male supremacist group Operation Rescue,
Newman
straddles the very thin line between "activism" and domestic
terrorism - and
I mean really straddles it. His organization harasses abortion
providers and
their patients, and some of its members have been involved in plots
to blow
up women's health clinics. Newman himself has called for the murder of
abortion doctors, said AIDS is a warning from God and believes that
drought
is God's revenge for abortion.
See more news and opinion from Thom Hartmann at Truthout here.
Seems like a great guy, huh? Well, he's just the tip of the iceberg
when it
comes to Ted Cruz's supporters.
There's also Dick Black, who the Cruz campaign has appointed as the
co-chair
of its Virginia campaign. In addition to advocating for the total
criminalization of homosexuality, Black is also a rape truther. Back
when he
was a Virginia state delegate, Black openly questioned the existence of
marital rape, something one of his opponents hammered him on in a
campaign
ad.
So much for family values, huh?
Cynthia Dunbar, Black's fellow co-chair of the Ted Cruz campaign in
Virginia, isn't much better. She's compared women having reproductive
rights
to the Holocaust, fought to make far-right Christianity part of the
public
school curriculum and believes that elected officials should have to
pass a
"biblical litmus test." She also says that politicians "don't have the
freedom to make any laws if they are contrary to what God has said in
his
Holy Scripture."
Swap out the words "Holy Scripture" for "Qu'ran" and that speech
could have
been made by Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the head of ISIS.
Another Ted Cruz supporter, Iowa conservative and head of The Family
Leader,
Bob Vander Plaats, also says the US should be a Saudi Arabia-style
theocracy. Here he is just a couple of years ago talking about why our
government should be based on "Godly principles" - i.e. far-right
evangelical Christianity.
As unsettling as that kind of talk is, it's nothing compared to what
Colorado pastor Kevin Swanson, another big-time Ted Cruz supporter, said
about homosexuality this summer: that it was worthy of the death
penalty.
Amazingly, it gets even worse than that.
Ted Cruz supporter and Texas preacher Mike Bickle believes that Jews
should
be forcibly converted to Christianity and says that if they refuse to
do so,
God will send a "hunter" like "Adolf Hitler" to get them to change their
minds.
Now, it'd be one thing if Mike Bickle was just some random guy with
bigoted
views who just happens to support Ted Cruz, but he's not, or at least
not
according to the Cruz campaign.
When Bickle announced last week that he was endorsing Ted Cruz for
president, the Cruz campaign published a statement on its official
website
saying in big bold letters, "CRUZ FOR PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES ENDORSEMENT OF
MIKE BICKLE."
There's an old saying that says you are the company you keep, and if Ted
Cruz is the company he keeps, that's downright terrifying.
He's just not winning the support of people like Mike Bickle and Dick
Black;
he's celebrating their support, and in some cases, hiring them to
work for
his campaign.
Of course, there's always the case that this is just one big cynical
ploy to
win the Evangelical vote, but even if it is, it says a lot about Ted
Cruz as
a person and as a leader that he'd willingly associate himself with
people
who are pretty much the US version of ISIS.
This is one of the biggest stories of the 2016 race for president,
but the
really disturbing thing is that the media almost completely ignore it.
Turn on CNN or any of the other major networks and you're more likely to
hear about poll numbers than the fact that the potential Republican
nominee
for president has been endorsed by a guy who thinks Hitler was sent
by God.
It's almost like the media think it's acceptable that someone running
for
president likes to pal around with Christian extremists and theocrats.
Well, it's not acceptable; it's a direct threat to our democracy,
which is
why it's time for the media to start taking Cruz and his extremist
endorsements seriously. Based on everything we've seen up to this
point, we
have every reason to believe that a Ted Cruz presidency could mean
the start
of a Saudi Arabia-style theocracy right here in the US. The media should
function as the fourth estate and wake the American people up to this
before
it's too late.
This article was first published on Truthout and any reprint or
reproduction
on any other website must acknowledge Truthout as the original site of
publication.
Related Stories
Ted Cruz Was Too Busy Playing With His "Gun" in Sixth Grade to Pay
Attention
By The Daily Take Team, The Thom Hartmann Program | Op-EdTed Cruz's
Path to
the White House By Tom Tomorrow, This Modern World | CartoonTed Cruz
Implies
He Would Nuke ISIS Targets By Robert Parry, Consortium News | News
Analysis
Show Comments
